Aegon cuts 213 back office jobs and outsources 106 positions

Part of a restructuring programme announced last year to cut costs by 25 percent

Aegon, the life insurance and pensions firm, has announced plans to cut 213 UK jobs, including those in IT, in a bid to meet its cost savings target.

The posts in IT, marketing and support will be cut from the company's headquarters in Edinburgh, and its offices in Lancashire.

Aegon will also outsource 106 jobs in the area of the business that manages inbound and outbound documents to specialist document managing company Oc.

It said that it would try to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies where possible.

The insurer first announced plans to restructure the business in June 2010, when unofficial estimates of job losses across all functions ranged from 600 to 1,000 cuts, as Aegon attempts to cut £80 million, or 25 percent, from costs by the end of 2011. It said that it had cut £37 million of its target by the end of March 2011 through a combination of "payroll and non-payroll" savings.

"This is a challenging time for our people and our business but achieving a lower cost base is essential to ensure Aegon remains a strong and successful business in the years ahead," said Aegon UK chief executive Adrian Grace.

"The changes we've announced today mean we remain on track to meet out cost saving targets by the end of this year."

Since announcing the restructuring programme, Aegon has reduced the size of its workforce by 557 roles, including the latest job cuts. For example, it cut 106 sales roles in September last year, which was followed by 51 roles lost in its finance operations in November.

Last week, Aegon reported a 60 percent fall in its UK profits for Q1 2011, due mainly to the £21 million in compensation it had to pay for failing to handle customer records according to industry regulations.